Tien Kung IV, or Sky Bow IV, is a
air defense
Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...
system currently being designed and trialed by the
NCSIST
National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST; ) is a Taiwanese state owned corporation, formerly part of the Ministry of National Defense's Armaments Bureau, which is active in the development, manufacturing, support, and ...
. Development codename is Strong Bow. It is pictured as a
Taiwanese version of the
American THAAD
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is an American anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in th ...
system. Its canister is 7.61 meters long, longer than the 5.49 meter of the
Sky Bow III system currently in service. Its ceiling ceiling and range are also both greater than the ones of
Sky Bow
The Sky Bow, or Tien Kung (), are a series of surface-to-air anti-ballistic missile and anti-aircraft defense systems developed by Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST). Development of the TK-1 was completed in ...
and
MIM-104 Patriot
The MIM-104 Patriot is a mobile interceptor missile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary such system used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives it ...
.
Sky Bow IV/Strong Bow I
In 2023 development work on a new BMD missile, dubbed Strong Bow, with a maximum interception altitude of 70km was completed. While often reported as an extended range variant of the TK-3, the Strong Bow is a distinct missile. Differences from the TK-3 include the fuselage, nosecone, and propulsion system. It also has a domestically produced microwave power amplifier and a
Ka band seeker.
The Strong Bow I was made public at the 2023
Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition but was not displayed.
Strong Bow II
A longer ranged derivative of the Strong Bow I with an intercept altitude of 100km or more is in development.
Two variants exist, IIA which is an anti-ballistic missile and IIB which is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 km.
See also
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Sky Spear
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Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is an American anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in th ...
*
Anti-aircraft warfare
Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...
*
Comparison of anti-ballistic missile systems
This is a table of the most widespread or notable anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems, intended in whole or part, to counter ballistic missiles. Since many systems have developed in stages or have many iterations or upgrades, only the most notabl ...
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Anti-ballistic missile
An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a surface-to-air missile designed to Missile defense, destroy in-flight ballistic missiles. They achieve this explosively (chemical or nuclear), or via hit-to-kill Kinetic projectile, kinetic vehicles, which ma ...
References
Missile defense
Anti-ballistic missiles of Taiwan
Anti-ballistic missiles
Ballistic missiles of Taiwan
{{Military of the Republic of China